1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to doors for vehicles and, more particularly, to a trim panel assembly for a door of a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to construct doors for motor vehicles such as automotive vehicles. Typically, the door includes an inner panel and outer panel joined to each other and connected to vehicle structure in a known manner. The door also includes a decorative trim panel mounted on the inner panel.
It is also known to provide an arm rest on the door to project inboard from the door trim panel to provide a convenient rest for an occupant's arm. The arm rest is typically made of a foam or honeycomb material molded to a substrate and covered with a cover. The arm rest is formed as a separate structure and attached to the door trim panel by conventional means such as fasteners. As a result, separate tooling is required for the cover, foam material and substrate which is undesired. Also, the separate arm rest requires more time for assembly and cost for manufacture. Thus, there is a need in the art to provide a door trim panel with a soft integral armrest which is less expensive to manufacture.